(a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a roof component of an automobile having a detachably attachable roof panel to be fitted in an opening formed in one part of the roof component. More particularly, the invention is concerned with a hinge device consisting of a tongue-shaped hinge member provided at the front edge of the abovementioned roof panel and a hinge receiving member provided at an inner peripheral rim of the opening.
(b) Description of Prior Art
Some automobiles and other vehicles have been provided heretofore with a roof having an opening in one part for the purpose of ventilating and lighting the vehicle cabin, and the opening is covered with a detachably attachable roof panel (vide: Japanese patent publication No. 55-10408).
Explaining this in more detail, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawing for an illustration of some of the elements common to the prior art and the roof components of the present invention, the roof panel 3, besides its attaching to, and detaching from, the roof component 1, has a hinge at an engaging part between the front edge 32 of the roof panel 3 and the inner peripheral rim 21 of the opening 2 with a view to raising the rear edge of the roof panel to a certain definite height, as shown by a double-dot-and-dash line in FIG. 2, to obtain a ventilating slit 5.
That is to say, the tongue-shaped hinge member 4 having a curvature in the lengthwise direction thereof is provided at the front edge 32 of the roof panel 3, and this hinge member 4 is slipped into an arcuate groove 6 formed in the tongue receiving member 5 provided at the inner peripheral rim 21 of the opening at a position corresponding to the hinge member 4. Further, the rear edge 31 of the roof panel 3 and the inner peripheral rim 21 of the opening are tightly joined together with a toggle type latch 7, for example.
In FIG. 2, when a lever 71 of the toggle type latch 7 is rotated in the arrow direction, a toggle arm 72 extends upward and the tongue-shaped hinge member 4 slides in and along the arcuate groove 6, whereby the rear edge 31 of the roof panel 3 raises upward as shown by the double-dot-and-dash line. When a pivot shaft 721 of the toggle arm 72 is pulled out of the ears 73 at the side of the roof 1, the rear edge 31 of the roof panel 3 is disengaged from the inner peripheral rim 21 of the opening. Further, when the roof panel 3 is pulled rearward while rotating the same upward, the tongue-shaped hinge member 4 is slipped out of the hinge receiving member 5 and the roof panel 3 is removed from the opening 2. The same hinge function can be obtained by forming the hinge member 4 in a planar shape using a resilient material, instead of forming it in an arcuate shape.
In the above-described roof panel fitting construction, a gutter or drain 9 is further provided along the lower brim of the inner peripheral brim 21 of the opening in order to receive and prevent leakage inside the vehicle cabin of rain water or car washing water which flows in between the inner peripheral rim 21 of the roof opening 2 and the detachable roof panel. The drain 9 communicates with outside of the vehicle body at its lower part through a vertical drain (not shown in the drawing).
The above-described tongue-shaped hinge member 4 works to attach and detach the roof panel 3 to and from the roof around the opening 2 by inserting and withdrawing the same into and out of the arcuate groove 6 of the hinge receiving member 5. In order, however, to maintain the hinge member in the groove so as to be readily inserted and withdrawn, the height of the groove is extremely low in conformity to the gauge or thickness of the plate for the hinge member 4. As the consequence of this, when dust, sand and mud enter into the groove 6, slipping of the hinge member is inhibited, and moreover, the member 4 is worn due to its friction with the dust and sand to cause loosening between the hinge member and the groove. Furthermore, due to the friction, the insertion and withdrawl of the hinge member become difficult. In addition, it will be apprehended that noises are generated between the hinge member 4 and the receiving member 5 due to vibrations of the vehicle body.
In the abovementioned hinge device, it happens that water which has flowed in between the inner peripheral rim 21 of the opening 2 and the front edge 32 of the roof panel 3, or water which, when the roof panel 3 is opened with water remaining on the top surface thereof, flows into the groove 6 of the hinge receiving member 5, in the cold season, is frozen to render it impossible to insert and withdraw the hinge member 4.
In the snow season, when the roof panel is to be removed from the roof opening with the snow fallen and accumulated on the roof top, it may happen that the snow on the roof panel falls and enters into the receiving groove 6 of the hinge member. Thereafter, when the tongue-shaped hinge member 4 is inserted into the groove 6 in an attempt to fit the roof panel 3 in the roof opening 2, the insertion causes the snow to be pushed inward of the groove 6 and solidified. As the result of this, the hinge member 4 cannot accurately be inserted into the innermost position of the groove 6, thereby causing inconvenience such that the roof panel 3 cannot perfectly be fitted into the roof opening 2.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved hinge device for the detachable roof panel which has removed the afore-described various defects in the conventional detachably attachable roof panel hinge device.